Taxonomy and Deployment Framework for Emerging Pervasive Technologies in Construction Projects

Abstract

Managing complex and dynamic construction projects is challenging because it relies highly on the real-time communication and seamless coordination of numerous things and people that are spatially and temporally distributed at a massive scale. To deal with the associated challenges, various concepts, including the internet of things (IoT), cyber-physical systems (CPS), and smart construction objects (SCOs), have been explored in construction. Amid the increasing overlap and merger of principles among these three pervasive technologies, narrow definitions and isolated development of each field are no longer appropriate. Therefore, this study proposes a deployment framework that integrates IoT, CPS, and SCOs to achieve greater synergy that can expedite their holistic implementation. It adopted a mixed-methods approach with a literature review, technological analyses, case studies, and action research at the core. This deployment framework encompassed the key components of each technology (i.e., the three core properties of SCOs, the bidirectional information flow in CPS, and the extensiveness of devices and networking in IoT) in an interconnected structure while enabling the uniqueness of each technology to be evident. Example application scenarios were described to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework in real-life practice. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by presenting a taxonomy that clarifies the similarities and differences between IoT, CPS, and SCOs when applied to the construction industry. The integrated deployment framework can be used to guide further theoretical explorations of the synergistic effects of IoT, CPS, and SCOs, enriched with practical cases to facilitate construction project management.